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Watch: The world’s first television spot

Those are the words that launched television advertising, according to a Mashable story. Here’s the first TV commercial, which ran in the United States on July 1, 1941 at 2:29 p.m.:

A few fun facts about that commercial:

• It cost Bulova $9.

• It led into a Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies game.

• It only reached “at best, a few thousand people.

• It aired the day the Federal Communications Commission’s first commercial licenses went into effect.

Also of note? The ad wasn’t filmed, per se. It was just a static shot of a graphic with an announcer doing live voice-over.

Interestingly, Bulova also produced the first broadcast radio commercial in 1928. Considering how relatively rare it is to see an ad for the high-end watches on TV now (there are still a few that air occasionally), it’s really interesting the brand holds both distinctions.